Remembering Butch Ryan' day at Mickey Vernon Museum Saturday

William 'Butch' Ryan, left, and former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh enjoy a laugh. The late Ryan, a legendary figure in the rich sports history of Aston, will be the subject of an exhibit Saturday at the Mickey Vernon Sports History Museum, located at the Granite Run Mall.

MIDDLETOWN— The Mickey Vernon Sports History Museum is hosting a “Remembering Butch Ryan” day at the museum Saturday.

The museum is on the second floor of the Granite Run Mall, 1067 W. Baltimore Pike. If you have a special story or memory of Butch that you would like to share with his friends, please come to the museum at 11 a.m. Saturday. If you have no story, but you would appreciate a few laughs you’ll be sure to enjoy the time spent in memory of Butch. For more information, call Jim Vankoski at 610-909-4919.

William F. ‘Butch’ Ryan was a legendary figure in the rich sports history of the town of Aston. He died earlier this month in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 89.

Ryan, a founding member of the Aston Athletic Association, was the father of University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach William ‘Bo’ Ryan as well as Nancy Sipple, a former head of the Aston board of commissioners.

He was among the first coaches in the Aston A.A. football program, coached Biddy Basketball teams to state championships, and coached baseball title winners in the Co-Del Teener League and with the Green Ridge Post 926 American Legion team. Two years ago, the football field behind the Aston Community Center, on which the Aston A.A. teams play, was named Butch Ryan Field.

Ryan became a fixture at the NCAA Division I Final Four after his son became an assistant coach at Wisconsin in 1976. Many of the announcers on national college basketball telecasts would mention the elder Ryan and share stories about him with their audiences.